The country also signed a second $10 million deal with Rockhopper, Kuwait Energy and Canada's Dover Corporation for exploration in the Western Desert, a ministry statement said.

Egypt aims to be a regional hub for the trade of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after a string of major discoveries in recent years including Zohr, which holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.

(Reporting by Ehab Farouk and Ahmet Tolba; Writing by Nadine Awadalla, Editing by William Maclean)